Shipwrights’ Lectures – Panel Announced
The next Shipwrights’ Lectures will be at 14.00 on 10 January 2018 at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton. The lectures are aimed at inspiring apprentices and young people involved in the industry and will show how cutting-edge technology is adopted to deliver world beating performance.Following the 35th America’s Cup held in Bermuda this summer, which exhibited the highest level of advanced sailing technology, this year’s theme is “Technical Innovation”. The foiling catamarans exhibited some of the greatest operational developments seen in international yacht racing since the cup began. Sir Ben Ainslie’s Land Rover BAR team successfully harnessed these innovations in their inspirational attempt to bring the cup home having been the only challenger to win one race against New Zealand, the eventual winner of the America’s Cup. Land Rover BAR will be further developing designs and materials once Emirates Team New Zealand has made public the design rule for the 36thAmerica’s Cup, maintaining their campaign to bring the cup home.To celebrate the hard work and achievement of the Land Rover BAR team, the panel discussion will focus on the technical innovation behind the America’s Cup. We are delighted to welcome the panel members:
Andy Claughton, Naval Architect Land Rover BAR Technologies
Richard Hopkirk, Land Rover BAR Engineering Manager
Simon Schofield, Land Rover BAR Technologies Senior Engineer
James Roche, Land Rover BAR Performance and Simulation
The panel discussion will be chaired by Matt Sheahan, Head of Performance Sailing at Sunset+Vine PLC, and will be a lively look at developments within our industry. In much the same way as Formula 1 drives innovation in the automotive industry, it is the Americas Cup that drives innovation in ours.
As in previous years, there will be a presentation from two marine apprentices, this time from Oyster Yachts, Wroxham telling of their experiences during their apprenticeship.
Following the interval the keynote speech will be given by Sir Keith Mills GBE DL, who, having left school at 15 with no qualifications, went on to have an amazing career in marketing. Early ventures included founding the air miles and nectar card companies before leading the team that brought the Olympics to Britain in 2012. He was co-founder of the Invictus Games with Prince Harry before becoming a founding shareholder of the America’s Cup team, Land Rover BAR.
For the first time the Shipwrights’ Lectures will coincide with the London Boat Show and we are pleased to announce that British Marine will again be offering apprentices free entry to the show on Thursday 11 January 2018. Employers will be able to obtain tickets for their apprentices through their training providers. Training providers, please visit London Boatshow for details.
In addition, we are delighted to announce that Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI), part of the University of Southampton, have offered tours of their fantastic tank testing facilities on the Bolderwood Campus for apprentices and their employers on the morning of the lecture. 48 places are available; please book when registering. If oversubscribed, we will allocate places.
